Prices

Restaurant prices in the 19th century (followed by 20th, below)

Note: Until the mid-19th century prices were often quoted in shillings and pence, or in Spanish dollars. One Spanish bit = 12½¢; One penny (1d) = 1¢; One shilling (1s) = 12d, or 12¢. At all times, a fixed-price dinner costs less than ordering a la carte.

1833 A cheap NYC eating house on Maiden Lane: “The charge for a plate of fish, for a plate of roasted turkey, with a slice of ham, with vegetables, potatoes, beans, &c. and a plumb-pudding, or peach-pie, or apple-pie, is exactly one shilling Sterling.”

1834 At a cheap eating house in Baltimore, for a price the diner considers “very moderate”: “I got my dinner there today for 15¾ cents; and it consisted of a plate of roast turkey, and vegetables, and an excellent tart …”

1844 The Café Tortoni, NYC, for an “A-1 French family dinner”: Soup, Boiled Beef, Oyster Plants, Sheepshead, Stewed Beef with Macaroni, Roast Leg of Mutton, Salad, and “different sorts of vegetables,” followed by sweets, all for 50¢ (not including wine).

1855 Those eating their mid-day dinner at Van Doren’s Commercial Oyster & Dining Saloon in Jersey City NJ can order a Plain Omelette for 12 ½ cents or, if they are feeling rich, a whole Broiled Chicken for 62 ½ cents. Vegetables available in March are Potatoes, Turnips, Celery, or Cabbage, each 6 ½ cents.

1888 Rock-bottom prices at the New York Kitchen in Chicago: Small Beefsteak, Pork Chop, Ham, Liver & Bacon, Oatmeal & Milk, One-third of a Pie, Large Wheat Cakes with butter and syrup, Ham & Beans – each 5¢.

1893 French table d’hôte dinners in NYC “cost usually 50 cents and consist of relishes, soup, fish with potatoes, something like chicken fricassee, vegetables, a roast dish, lettuce salad, French pancakes, fruit and cheese, and coffee, along with a pint of California claret.”

1894 The Louvre Saloon Chop House, Woodland CA: “Original Clam Chowder, with the Largest Glass of Beer for the sum of 10 cents. Egg Salad Served with Every Meal, Free. Ham and 4 eggs with beer or coffee (25¢), Oysters in every style with beer or coffee (25¢).”

1897 Sunday dinner at The American House, Telluride CO: 50¢ for a 10-course meal which includes Caviar on Toast, Sliced Tomatoes, Broiled Salmon, Tenderloin of Beef aux Champignons, Coffee Jelly with Whipped Cream, and three wines (Niersteiner, Burgundy, Zinfandel).

1912 A typical restaurant in San Francisco’s Little Italy: 50¢ for Soup, Fish, Entrée, Roast, Salad, Dessert, Fruit and a Demi-Tasse. “Here you get Italian pastes in perfection, ravioli, tagliarini, spaghetti, or green lasagne, and tempting fritto misto, each delicately fried tiny roll of batter containing a different surprise – an artichoke heart, a piece of chicken liver, a bit of brains, or some other tidbit. For dessert, zabaione and fried cream are their specialties.”

1917 On August 27 a thrifty diner can order a complete dinner of Old Fashion Bean Soup, Roll & Butter, Hungarian Beef Goulash with Mashed Potatoes, Stewed Celery, and Cole Slaw, Cocoanut Pie, and Demi Tasse for only 50 cents at Green’s Restaurant in Philadelphia. Served a la carte, Beef Goulash alone costs 50 cents, but undoubtedly it is a larger portion.

1921 Advertisement, Littleton CO: “When in town Eat at The Home Café. Regular Dinner 35¢ and 40¢. Choice of 3 meats, soup, potatoes, 1 side dish, pudding, coffee or milk. Best coffee in the city 5¢ per cup. Try our regular Sunday chicken dinner, 60¢.”

1934 On its August 15 menu Mary Elizabeth’s, a tea room on Fifth Avenue at 36th Street in New York City, offers a Tropical Chicken special with Orange Sections, Pineapple Hollandaise, and New Green Peas for $1.10. A Cream Cheese and Jelly Sandwich is 30 cents, while Iced Watermelon is 20 cents.

1937 Toffenetti’s Triangle Restaurant in the Chicago Loop: “…lean, savory, juicy Hamburger sandwich, With a white crisp slice of Bermuda onion, With a beautiful slice of tomato, With a dessert, With a beverage … All for only 30¢.”

1944 The Milan Cafeteria in San Antonio TX calls itself the home of “Old Fashioned Foods.” Thursday is Family Day with a steamtable of choices such as Roast Chicken with Cornbread Dressing (40 cents), Peas in Butter (15 cents), or a Tomato Stuffed with Shrimp Salad (23 cents).

1947 Trefner’s, 619 Lexington at 53rd, NYC, a moderately priced restaurant with long-time patrons: “First there is fruit juice, then a choice of two soups. The main courses are fried chicken, steaks or some kind of fish. The chicken, which is $1, is one of the specialties of the house. Another is Hungarian goulash for 95 cents.”

1974 Dohack’s in a suburb of St. Louis MO offers a carry-out menu with Bar B-Q Ribs accompanied by French Fries, Cole Slaw, and Bread for $2.90. A Large Chef Salad costs $1.75, and Onion Rings are 60 cents.

1981 The chain restaurant TGI Friday’s charges $2.95 for its Plain Potato Skins appetizer, which comes with sour cream and chives for dipping, but $5.20 for Loaded Potato Skins which arrive with cheddar cheese and crumbled bacon.

1982 At The Old Spaghetti Factory, a chain restaurant popular with families, a spaghetti dinner runs from $1.95 for Spaghetti with Plain Tomato Sauce, up to $2.25 with Mushroom Sauce. The dinners come with green salad, sourdough bread with garlic butter, coffee, tea, or milk, and spumoni ice cream. A glass of wine (Mountain Burgundy, Rosé, or Chablis) costs 40 cents.

1982 Los Angeles’ Spago turns down 300 reservations a day, according to chef Wolfgang Puck. Specializing in pizza, it is a fashionable spot for celebrities. With lower prices than other “in” restaurants, dinner checks average about $30 with wine.

1987 A booklet of recommended restaurants put out by the San Francisco Chronicle advises that an inexpensive restaurant in that city is one that charges $10 or under for a meal, while a moderate-priced restaurant charges up to $25 and an expensive restaurant charges over $25. However, at a top restaurant such as Masa’s in San Francisco a fixed-price meal runs $48 (almost certainly excluding drinks and tip), while diners at Berkeley’s innovative Chez Panisse can expect to pay at least $45.

A group of friends went out for lunch. Four people ordered soup. Four people ordered sandwiches. Each sandwich costs twice as much as a bowl of soup. Three people ordered burgers. Each burger costs three times as much as a bowl of soup. The total cost for their lunch was less than ​$47.46. What was the price of a bowl of​ soup?

I haven’t seen prices in restaurants given per pint or half pint, but I would say you could definitely find those prices in the 1940s and probably even into the early 1950s in some eating places. It would take quite a bit of research to nail down the modal prices considering there’s always quite a bit of variation.

Obviously prices vary quite a bit among different restaurants, but I’m going to say that in the average popular restaurant it wasn’t until the late 1960s or early 1970s that hot chocolate cost that much.

I love the comparison. But something happened from the early 60s, or there about, to the early 80s. Things, meaning food here, were about the same price from the 30s to the 60s. Things didn’t double or triple.
But a spaghetti dinner in the early 80s (with mushroom) is almost $3.00 and spaghetti is dirt cheap.
You can get a burger and the works for about 50 cents and 25 years later a roast pork dinner with the works for $1.75. But that is comparing chopped meat to a hearty meal. That spaghetti dinner in a chain restaurant almost doubled what a full meat dinner cost in the 60s and their is no meat or the works. That is a joke and if you had any professional career, even if it wasn’t the high paying ones, from 1900 to the 1960s, you could eat out with hardly eating at home and the food you bought at the grocery store was so cheap and rent too, that people were able to save money.
Well, something went wrong after the 60s and people, unless you were lucky, have been struggling to get by ever since.
Please note that this struggle for most people was without a depression like back in the day.
I know people try to say there were some kind of depression when they were adults, but nothing compared to back in the day.
Lastly, food is supposed to be very inexpensive, some how a lot of food, especially eating out, cost and arm and a leg.
But what I don’t understand is you can go to a restaurant and order a shrimp cocktail and they charge 10 or 11 dollars. Then you go to an all you can eat restaurant and they charge 15 to 20 dollars but you can eat all the shrimp you want.
Lastly, I mean it. Two things; In a Chinese restaurant in the middle of Jersey, about 60 miles from the nearest city, I ordered dumplings, 8 for $8.99.
But in N.Y.C, I get 4 dumplings or buns for a dollar. You tell me how this is. And this happens when you compare almost any restaurant. Also, my friend went to Maine to get that great Maine lobster and he was charged like $15.00 each for him and his girl and they were in a cheap side of the road, recommended place (plus he didn’t like the food). He goes to his Chinese places (he is Chinese) and tells me he gets the same lobster for $4.00. And I have been there with him and it is so inexpensive.
Point of all of this is, how can one establishment charge crazy prices and another not. I notice among these “white” communities, (and I mean where white people mostly eat) they over charge because they know they will pay and they want to get rich. They are, if they are friendly, phony friendly and are cheap with the food and never give anything on the house. I know some diners, and I go to them, I love them, will, if you are a regular customer, give things on the house, but they are a community and they are great people in most diners.
Back in the day, you go to any “white” community and they weren’t trying to milk their customers. You became friends of the staff and owners. You see it with these food people on t.v. charging an arm and a leg for a shake or small sandwich.
Well, I think these people are terrible and that’s why I go into the communities that serve their own people and I eat like it’s the 70s. Plus the food is authentic and the owners are so gracious, but genuinely gracious, meaning I order something, but it was wrong, they say oh sorry, well leave it there and I’ll get you what you ordered plus a little something extra because it was their mistake. That’s true loyalty to a customer and tells you how cheap food is.
Well, there is so much more.
Thanks for reading
God Bless

As you have noticed pricing is a really complex subject. All kinds of things come into play such as location, quality of ingredients, how successful a place is, market positioning and strategy. Some dishes are priced not much over cost and others are priced high — even in the same restaurant. I don’t think most restaurants make huge profits, not even some of the top places that are far beyond the reach of most people.

What is not being considered is rent for example. A restaurant in tourist Maine may well be paying more rent than your friend’s neighborhood restaurant. Also the wages may differ from area to area. Cost of living altogether varies from place to place. It is not entirely geared to rip you off.
I work near a place where the best bus boy gets $20 an hour. Course he works as hard as two people, but still. Anyway, just to say you haven’t figured in all costs…

I remember the Ritz Old Poodle Dog, one of San Francisco’s oldest and best French Restaurant. In 1960, we took my wife’s best friend to dine there for her birthday, We all had a great dinner, and the service was the best. As I remember, dinner for 4, with tip, cost just a bit more than $30.00, And there was a little extra, at no extra charge, I mentioned to the head waiter that it was our friends birthday, so at the end of dinner, a waiter came out with a nice pastry with a sparkler in it, the lights were dimmed, and it was grandly served.

Oh my gosh, what a great site. I used to feed my family of 3 youngish kids, my wife and myself at, Johnny’s No Bone Steak House, for about $5.00. These were full meals, We ate there every once in a while. Fuel then was $0.25 per gallon, cheaper if a gas war was going on.
I was born in 1934, I remember pumping gas into my moms car at $0.11 per gallon. It was pumped up into a glass container which measured the gas, then dumped through the hose by gravity. Interesting life….

Jill March 19, 2013
I found, in old family things, a very simple device to keep track of games & points. It was given “Compliments of Marston’s Restaurant”. Cardboard wheels on either side turn the numbers. On the back side it says 25 & 27 Brattle Street and 17 & 19 Hanover St in BOSTON. Anyone know anything about this?
Thank You

Is there a market for menu’s from the 50’s and 60’s? If so, how does one find someone who might be interested in that sort of thing? I have several from all over the US. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

There is, though any particular menu’s desirability hinges on condition, attractiveness, and where it is from. Most old menus are sold on e-Bay, at fleamarkets, and at antique shows. It’s possible a dealer would want to buy your menus as a lot.

Thank you for your input. My favorite is the Davy Jones Seafood menu from Radio City New York, circa 1951. The Shore Platter consists of Maine lobster tail, crab cake, frog legs, jumbo shrimp, chicken breast, potato and salad. Price $6.50. Add a bottle of Chablis for $ 3.00. How amazing that is to me.

1973 NYC, “The Pink Teacup”, was a soul food restaurant in the West Village. Breakfast special was strawberry pancakes, maple or berry syrup, 2 eggs, a smothered pork chop and a side of greens with coffee & biscuits included…$2.85. Filling to say the least!

I came across a token for the Admiral Grill and a search brought me to your website. While looking through your site I could not find any reference to it, although it’s quite possible I missed it. Printed on the token is “Admiral Grill 24 S. Dearborn St.” on one side, and “Good For 25 In Trade” on the other. Is this grill referenced on your site anywhere? Thanks!

Imagine surprise of seeing Furr’s Cafeteria in Hobbs! I grew up there & was 12-13 at the time of your price timeline. The pork loin was ok but nuttin’ like Momma’s!! The veal cutlet, on the other hand, ….

Very interesting information! I work for an investment firm that is currently in the process of opening a restaurant chain and we’re looking for interesting photos of restaurants/dining from the 1930’s-1960’s. We’d like some of the photos to include images of patrons interacting, dining, etc. Can you recommend a good website or book that may contain some great images?

Closest to one-stop shopping would be searching on e-Bay, but other good sources are photo collections at the Museum of the City of New York, New York and San Francisco public libraries, and the Library of Congress.

Hi Tom, Hard to answer that. Maybe it was because my parents took me out to eat fairly often when I was a child. Then I started collecting postcards of old restaurants. Then I wondered about their histories . . . and so on, down the rabbit hole. Not so much precipitated as percolated.

Thank you for the information. I am teaching a class of children and we were discussing money and pieces of coins.
I was so happy to see your “Note: Until the mid-19th century prices were often quoted in shillings and pence, or in Spanish dollars. One Spanish bit = 12½¢; One penny (1d) = 1¢; One shilling (1s) = 12d, or 12¢. . . ..” One part of the discussion was about “pieces of eight” and I told them about how American Colonist were not allowed to use British pounds. They were allowed to barter or use money from other countries: Spain, Holland, etc. They had a coin cutter similar to today’s paper cutter, and the merchant would cut the coins into eights. (I was told this on a Williamsburg tour) I wonder if a Spanish bit was similar to a “piece of eight”.

I found such great information on your site wanted to ask is it okay to use for my paper on pricing power. I’m a culinary student researching different sites, for valuable information hope you don’t mind.

I agree, so interesting this information. Are you familiar with the Miss Frank E. Buttolph American Menu Collection, 1851-1930 in the New York Public Library? Thousands of menus. You can find this on line with fine colored images at the NYC Public Library website. NYPL.org It is interesting to convert 1835 dollar into 2008 dollar. Using Purchasing Power of Money in the United States from 1774 to 2009 at MEASURINGWORTH.COM, we find an 1835 $1 to be worth $25.20 in 2008. (using CPI, Consumer Price Index). Thanks for this website RESTAURANTING-ING through history.

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